Howard f



(No Model.)

H. P. WELGH. SHAFT SUPPORT FOR VEHICLES.

No. 458,728.. Patented June 9, 1891.

Q 1mm u m u -w4m UNITED STATES HOXVARD F. lYELCI-I, OF RIOIIFIELD SPRINGS, ASSIGNOR TO MARGARET IIOIVARD CHASE, OF NEXV YORK, Y.

SHAFT-SUPPORT FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 453,728, dated June 9, 1891.

Application filed October 4, 1889. Renewed March 21, 1891.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD F. \VELGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richfield Springs, in the county of Otsego and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shaft-Supporters for Vehicles; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has relation to shaft-supporters for vehicles; and the object is to produce a simple, cheap, and eifective device of this class that can be adjusted to suit the diiferent styles of vehicles for which it is intended, and also capable of ready adjustment to raise or lower the shafts of the vehicle at will, and to these ends my present invention relates more particularly to that class for which I have made application for Letters Patent of the 30th day of October, 1888, and on the 9th day of February, 1889, and the novelty consists in the construction of the same, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved device complete, and Fig. 2 is a sectional detail of the same.

A is theupper section, and its upper end is formed into a suitable hook B, while its lower end terminates in a strap 0, provided with a rectangular slot 0. The body of this section A has formed in it a series of recesses or openings a, the lower portion of which is constructed so as to form a smaller opening than the upper portion or mouth of said slot. D is the lower section of said supporter, and its lower end is formed into a suitable hook E, which is curved in a direction diametrically opposite or opposed to the hook B on the upper section A. The upper end of the lower section D terminates in a stud (Z, provided with an enlarged head 6, and this head is of such a size as to pass freely through the Serial No. 385,877. (No model.)

upper or enlarged portion of the slot or recess a, while the stud itself is of a size to correspond with the lower or contracted portion of said recess, and when the stud is passed through said recess a and pulled down it is firmly locked therein against displacement in any direction, except upwardly. The slot 0 is of a size to correspond with a cross-section of the body D, which freely slides in it, and it will be readily seen from the above description that the two sections A and D may be adjusted with reference to each other by inserting the stud in the appropriate recess, thus bringing the opposed hooks nearer together to shorten the supporter or farther apart to lengthen it out, all of which can almost instantaneously be accomplished, and it will thus be seen that the device can be adjusted to suit different vehicles, and, moreover, can be adjusted to raise or lower the shafts of the same vehicle. In practice the hook a is hung over the dash-board, and the hook E is then placed under the cross-bar on the shafts.

For the finer class of carriages the supporter may be partially or wholly covered with rubber, leather, or any other suitable material, or it may be lacquered or simply dipped, while in its cheapest form the plain unfinished supporter may be used, and I do not wish to confine myself to any particular material, as it is obvious that there are a number of substances of which the supporter may be manufactured. T

In the drawings I have shown the inner portions of the hooks B and E provided with rubber or leather to prevent chafing of the finished parts of the vehicle with which they come in contact, and this protection may extend to the whole supporter, or it may be dispensed with entirely, as above stated, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention fully, what I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States,

1. A shaft-supporter comprising the following elements, to wit: a hooked portion A, having female elongated slots a and a loop 0, in

combination with a hooked portion D, adaptan enlarged head c, as and for the purpose ed to the portion A and provided with a butset forth. ton-head 6, adapted to interlock with the said In testimony whereof I affix my signature in slots, all as specified. presence of two witnesses.

5 2. The combinatiomwith the upper section HOWARD F. WELCH.

A, provided with the hook B, recesses Ct, and Vitnesses: slot 0,- in combination with the lower section JAMES R. JOHNSON,

D, having hook E and stud d, provided with JOHN H. CLAY; 

